Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter

772

I ran into Aaron in the hospital lobby, and he was carrying a bag that looked like it was packed with ointments.

"Where's Lena?" I asked, skipping over any formalities. Calling him "Mr. Ace" felt too stiff, and "Uncle Aaron"? Yeah, no. He wasn't much older than me or Lena, so that was a hard pass.

"She's upstairs getting checked," Aaron replied, glancing at his watch. "She should be done by now."

"I'll go check on her," I said, heading toward the elevators.

"Wait." Aaron held out the bag. "Her wrists and ankles are bruised. Use this."

I took the bag. "You're not coming up?"

"No," he said. "I'll wait in the car. When Gabriel and Carol are done, can you help send

them downstairs?"

He meant Lena's parents.

His response left me confused, but since we weren't close, I didn't want to pry.

Still, I couldn't stop myself from asking, "How did you even find her?"

"It wasn't hard if you really wanted to find her."

The words made sense, but something about them didn't sit right. Nate and I had been tearing the city apart looking for her and still came up empty.

"Wow, guess you care about Lena more than the rest of us," I teased.

He didn't flinch-just nodded slightly before turning and walking off, his long coat sweeping dramatically behind him. Not gonna lie, the guy had that whole tall, dark, and handsome vibe down. When I got to Lena's floor, I spotted her with Nate. And yeah, it clicked immediately why Aaron had decided to stay downstairs-Nate was already here.

Lena spotted me and pouted playfully. "Rea, gimme a hug!"

I hugged her. "Guess it's true-after chaos comes good vibes."

We cracked a few jokes, shaking off some of the stress from her kidnapping.

"Mr. Lane, Mrs. Lane," I said with a smile, "you guys should head home and rest. Mr. Ace is downstairs waiting to take you."

"Alright, we'll go," Gabriel said, giving Lena a worried glance. He seemed to realize that

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Chapter 772

with Nate here, there wasn't much else they could do.

"I'll see you out," 1 offered, remembering Aaron's request. Plus, it gave Lena and Nate some time to actually talk.

"I can do it," Nate volunteered, stepping forward.

"Nah, you stay with your injured girlfriend." I handed him the ointment Aaron had sent up. "Here, her uncle says to make sure she actually uses this." I winked at Lena as I spoke.

Her mom gave a final round of instructions before they left, still fussing over Lena like moms do. I closed the door behind them, giving them a space.

Carol sighed. "We're lucky Aaron was there. If not for him... Lena might have..."

She trailed off, and I could only nod. Lucky, indeed.

"Mrs. Lane, it's over now," I said gently, linking my arm with hers.

She huffed. "If only Lena's boyfriend lived closer."

Clearly, she wasn't thrilled Nate couldn't swoop in right away.

"This is just temporary. Once they're married, it'll all work out," I said, trying to smooth things over.

Carol stayed quiet, but the tension in her shoulders eased a little. When we reached the lobby, Aaron was already waiting.

He greeted Gabriel and Carol and held the car door open for them. After they climbed in, he nodded at me. "Thanks for the help."

I nodded back and watched as they drove away

Now that Nate and Lena had their moment upstairs, it didn't feel right to barge back in.. Instead, I sank onto a nearby flowerbed, letting the evening air settle around me.

***

Upstairs, Nate dabbed ointment on Lena's scraped-up arm. "Does it hurt?" he asked, his voice soft.